Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
(A) Application
The initial application process is used to determine whether a
child meets the definition of a qualified special education child. The
reapplication process for succeeding years is used primarily to identify
continued eligibility and interest in the program.
(1) If the parent of a child who meets all of
the criteria in paragraphs (B)(1) to
(B)(2)) of this rule wishes to have the child
participate in the autism scholarship program, the parent must complete and
submit an annual application for the scholarship, along with all required
information, in accordance with rules of the state board of education and
guidelines established by the Ohio department of education.
(2) As part of the annual application
process, the parent shall provide a signed written consent that requires the
school district of residence to release the following records to the
alternative public provider or the registered private provider who will be
implementing the child's individualized education program (IEP):
(a) The current IEP;
(b) The evaluation team report of the current
evaluation;
(c) All progress
reports and interim reports from the previous school year;
(d) The previous year's IEP.
(3)
The
deadline for receipt of applications for students older than age three
is
May thirty-first of each year.
(4)
Applications received after the deadlines stated in paragraph (A)(3) of this
rule shall be processed for the next fiscal year, beginning on July
first.
(B) Eligibility
Eligibility is determined by the following criteria:
(1) The child is between the ages of three
and twenty-one years, inclusive;
(2) The child either was enrolled in the
school district in which the child is entitled to attend school (school
district of residence) in any grade from preschool through twelve in the school
year prior to the year in which a scholarship is first sought for the child or
is eligible to enter school in any grade preschool through twelve in the school
district in which the child is entitled to attend school (school district of
residence) in the school year in which a scholarship is first sought for the
child. For the purposes of this paragraph, a child is entitled to attend
preschool if he or she satisfies the requirements in paragraph (A)(50) of rule
3301-51-01 of the Administrative
Code.
(C) Written
notification of approval or disapproval
(1)
Once a child has been approved or disapproved to receive a scholarship through
the autism scholarship program, the child's parent shall be notified of the
approval or disapproval, in writing, by the Ohio department of
education.
(2) Scholarships awarded
under the autism scholarship program shall be valid from the date of the Ohio
department of education's written notification of approval to the end of the
scholarship year, provided all program requirements have been met.
(3) No scholarship funds shall be expended
for services the child received prior to the parent of the child receiving
written notification from the Ohio department of education that the child has
been approved for a scholarship and prior to placement of the child with an
alternative public provider or registered private provider.
(D) New application after exiting
program
A parent of a child who has exited the program and wishes to
return must reapply by submitting a new application in accordance with rules of
the state board of education and guidelines established by the Ohio department
of education.
(E) Reporting
The district of residence of a recipient of an autism
scholarship shall promptly notify the department of education when a child in
its district has withdrawn from the autism scholarship program and returned to
the district of residence.
